Wedge closure fastener



l'ulyi 10, 1928.

T. J. ANSTEY WEDGE CLOSURE FASTENER Filed April 17, 1926 W *INVENTOR. -w BY W4 .7

ATTORNEY Patented July 10, 1928.

TRACY J. ANSTEY, OF OAKLAND, CALIFORNIA.

WEDGE CLOSURE FASTENER.

Application filed April i7, 1926. Serial No. 102,620.

My invention relates broadly. to closure fasteners, and it has special reference to wedge door closure fasteners chiefly for holding doors for refrigerators and coldstorage rooms tightly shut by wedge action when the closing of the doors is required;

In refrigerators and cold storage rooms. which are constructed'so as to be virtually airtight the doors therefor that have ordi-' nary latches or fasteners are frequently left ajar, and as a consequence a resultant inrush of air incurs a considerable rise of the temperature in the. refrigerators or the coldstorage rooms. hen the doors are closing, the air in the refrigerators is compressed and by its reaction the doors remain slightly open until they are actually closed by hand.

The principal object of my invention is to provide a fastening device for refrigerator doorsland t he like which will Overcome the before-mentioned objectionable features by positively shutting the door and holding it wedged in the closed position, while at the same time permitting the door to be easily openedat will from either side. p a Another object is toprovide a closure fastener adapted to be attached to the door of a refrigerator, and to provide a keeper that is adapted to be attached to the door jamb, and to construct the fastener with a spring' actu ated, pivotally securedlock plate having a notched portion so arranged that, when the door nearing its closed position, the notched portion will receivethe end of the keeper therein androrce the door to its closed position and wedge it insaid position, even it the door inthe course of time has shrunk away fromt-hejamb. I

further object of the invention is to provide ado or closure fastener that has its handle formed as a part of the fastener, and that the fastener will operate by a pull on the handle from the outside or a push on the door from the inside. v

Still further objects and advantages will appear with reference to thesubjoined specification and the accompanying drawings, in ha a f F gu fl i a .fr n v hW n- P rtion of a refrigerator door withmy closure fastener secured thereto, and ,a portion of the door jamb. with the keeper for the fastener thereon. The fastener is SllQWIl as holding the door in its closed and wedged position.

Fig. 2 is a top view of the door and the jamb, with the fastener and the keeper at- I tached as shown in Fig. 1. The fastener casing is in mid-section in order to show the Working parts therein and particularly how the ball wedges the lock plate against the keeper;

Fig. ,3 is a top View analogous to Fig. 2, showing the door partly opened; the casing is partly in section and the lock plate is receding from its engaging positionwith the keeper; and

Fig. 4 is a top View analogous to Fig. 3, showing the door opened so that the lock plate is out of engagement with. the keeper.

Referring to the drawings in detail, the

numeral 5 indicates a swingingsupport', such as a refrigerator door, which is hinged in the ordinary manner to the door frame, not shown. Opposite to the hinge side of the door is secured thaqastener member 6 of my invention; This fastener consists of a casing- 7, which has outward extending flanges 8 for its securement to the door as by bolts 9 therethroug'h. The casing is provided with a longitudinal bore 10, which isthreaded at one end and at its other end joins an expanded opening 11 adaptedfto receive therein a lock plate 12. The lock plate ispiyotally secured in the opening by a pin 13 driven through the side walls of the casing. a z I The lock plate is provided with a' notched portion l havi ng tongues 15 and 16, and a cam 17 on the other sideof the pivot 13 and opposite to the tongue 16. A coil-spring '18 is freely mounted in the bore lO and an element is slidably and rotatably mounted. in the bore for engagement with the cam of the lock plate. This element comprises a ball 19, which is seated in the end of the spring toward the lock platfey and the ten- .sion at which the ball engages the: cam is adjustably governed bymeans of a screw 20 screwed into the threaded endbtthe bore.

,A stop 21 is formed within the casing at the end ofthe "bore 10 iforthe tongue 15 in order to sto'pthe swinging movement of the lock plate in one direction. For the plurpose of closing and opening the door, the

fastener has integral therewith a ringshaped handle 24-; which preferably is in alignment with the bore 10.-

The keeper or engaging member of my invention is indicated in general by. the numeral 25. It consistsoi a-base 26 which is secured to the jamb or stationary support 23 by suitable means, such as bolts 27. Fromthe base extends a rod 28 which terminates in a head 30 that is adapted to be 'received within the notched portion 1a of the lock plate for engagement with either of its tongues 15 and 16. I

In operation, when the door is closed, as shown in Fig. 2, the ball 19 will be wedged between the cam 17 of the lock plate 12 and the stop 21, so that the door is thus always held tightly when in the closed position. By an outward pull on the handle 2a the head 30 of the keeper causes the lock plate to swing on its pivot 13 and force the ball to compress the spring, as shown in Fig.3. A moment thereafter, the head, by its sweeping" engagement with the tongue 15, will swing the 10k plate to a position whereby the spring-actuated ball will wedge as before, and cause the plate to assume the position shown in Fig. 1. The lock plate in this position is clear of the keeper and the door is thus free to be swung further outward for access to the refrigerator.

It is seen that, by the outward pull on the door, the tongue 16 is forced to assume a position for operative engagement with the keeper, so that, when th door is swung inward and is nearing 1 s closing position, the keeper will engage the tongue 16 and thereby swing the lock plate until it reaches a position in which it will permit the springactuated ball to wedge between the cam and the stop, and by the engagement of the tongue 15 with the keeper force the door into the closed position. 7

From theforegoing description taken in connection with the accompanying drawings, the advantages of the construction and the method of operation will be readily understood by those skilled in the art to which the invention appertains, but while I have described the principle of operation, together with the device which I now consider to he the best embodiment thereof, I desire to have it understood that the device shown is merely illustrative and that such changes may be made, when desired, as fall within the scope of the appended claims.

lVhat I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent of the United States, is:

1. A closure fastener of the character described comprising a casing adapted to be secured to a swinging supportra lock plate pivotally secured in the casing at one end thereof and provided with a pair of adjacent tongues forming a notched portion and with fa cam opposite to one of the tongues; a

keeper adapted to be secured to a stationary support andprovided with a head adapted to be received within the notched portion for engagement with the tongues; and means within the casing comprising a freely movable ball adapted to engage the cam and a 1,676,515 I v r tongues in engagement with thekeeper, when the swinging support is nearing its closed position, so as to force the swinging support to the closed position and hold it wedged in said position, and, conversely, when the swinging support has been swung to a position in which the first-named tongue is released from its engagement with the keeper, to move the other tongue to a position for operative engagement by the keeper.

2. A closure fastener of the character described, comprising a casing adapted to be secured to a swinging support and provided with a longitudinal bore; a lock plate pivotally secured in the casing at one end of the bore and provided with a pair of adjacent tongues forming a notched portion and with a cam opposite to one of the tongues; a keeper adapted to be secured to a stationary support and provided with a head portion adapted to be received within the notched portion for engagement with the tongues; an element slidably mounted in the bore and adapted to engage the cam; and resilient means in the bore adapted to hold the element in engagement with the cam'and to co-operate with the element for holding one of the tongues in engagement with the keeper, when the swinging support is nearing its closed position, seas to force the swinging-support to the closedposition and hold it wedged 'insaid position, and, conversely, when the swinging support has been swung to a position in which the first-named tongue is released from its engagement with the keeper, to move the other tongue to a position for operative engagement by the keeper. 1

3. A closure fastener of the character described, comprising a casing adapted to be secured to a swinging support and provided with a longitudinal bore; a lock plate pivotally secured in the casing at one end of the bore and; provided with a pair of adjacent tongues forming a notchedfportion and with a cam opposite to one of the tongues; a keeper adapted to be secured to a stationary support and provided witha head adapted to be received within the notched portion forengagement with the tongues; an

element slidably mounted in the bore and adapted to engage the cam; resilient means in the bore adapted to hold the element in engagement with the cam and to co-operate with the element for holding one of the tongues in engagement with the keeper, when the swinging support is nearing its closed position, so as to force the swinging support to the closed-position and hold it wedged in said position, and, conversely, when the swinging support has been swung to a position in which the first-namedtongue is released from its engagement with the keeper, to move the other tongue toa position for operative engagement by the,

keeper; and means for adjusting the tension of the resilient means.

4;. A closure fastener of the character described, comprising a casing adapted to be secured to a swinging support; a lock plate pivotally secured in the casing at one end thereof and provided with a notched portion; a keeper adapted to be secured to a stationary support and provided with a head adapted to be received within the notched portion; means within the casing for holding the notched portion of the lock plate in engagement with the keeper, when the swinging support is nearing its closed position, so as to force the swinging support 'to the closed position and hold it wedged in said position, and, conversely, when the swinging support has been swung to a position in which the lock plate is released from its engagement with the keeper, to swing the lock plate so that the notched portion is in a position for operative engagement with the keeper; and means comprising a handle integral with the casing for the manipulation of the swinging support.

5. A closure fastener of the character described, comprising a casing provided with a longitudinal bore and adapted to be secured to a door; a lock plate pivotally secured in the casing at one end of the bore and provided'with a pair of adjacent tongues forming a notched portion and with a cam opposite to one of the tongues; a keeper adapted to be secured to a jamb and provided with a head adapted to be received within the notched portion for engagement with the tongues; a coil spring freely mounted in the bore; and a ball slidably and rotatably mounted in the bore and seatable in one end of the spring so as to engage the cam to hold one of the tongues in engagement with the keeper, when the door is nearing its closed position, in order to force the door to the closed position and hold it wedged in said position, and, conversely, whenthe door has been swung to a position in which the firstnamed tongue is-released from its engagement with the keeper, to move the other tongue to a position for operative engagement by the keeper.

In testimony whereof, I affix my signature.

TRACY J. ANSTEY. 

